In pictures: Behind the scenes at a butcher shop

By Sophie Kesteven

When it comes to highlighting local produce, butcher Steve Chapman knows some of our region's best. He has had a butcher shop in Mackay for the past 10 years and, using locally sourced Queensland meats from places such as Biloela, Kuttabul and Atherton, he has been recognised nationally.

Steve says his love for meat originally ignited at the age of seven on his father's farm. "We used to slaughter our own food from the stock we grew. My grandfather was a smallgoods maker and he was my idol as a kid," he said.
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Steve says he smokes bacon and smallgoods such as pepperoni and beer sticks in the smokehouse.
"We added the seasoning to the cured meat yesterday and filled it into the skins, and yesterday afternoon we put it into a fermentation room for 12 hours before putting it into the smokehouse," he said.
He says the fermentation process opens the pores of the products so the smoke will absorb it a lot easier.
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Steve says he uses hardwood to smoke his meats. "It makes a huge difference. The thicker smoke you get is a better smoke, and you get a better finished outcome," he said. "You can see we actually leave the walls maintained with the dark glaze, which adds flavour and makes a big difference with the smoking process." (ABC: Sophie Kesteven)

Once the meat is inside the smokehouse Steve says it will smoke for 12 hours. "When the smoke has fully taken to the product, we then pop it back into an aging room where it sits on 13 degrees until the water reduction takes place. It reduces the moisture out of the product, which makes it safe for packaging," he said.
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After meat is taken out of the smoking room it is aged in a holding refrigerator.
Steve says his bacon can sit in there for up to seven or eight days.
"The product firms up giving it the texture; it allows all the flavours to settle into the product," he said.
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After a week the bacon is taken out of the holding refrigerator and is ready to be tied up and sliced.
Steve adds that in 2013 his bacon won first prize in a Australian bacon competition. (ABC: Sophie Kesteven)

Steve says he could spend a whole day slicing up bacon, and his wife who works with him then packages it.
"We have our little team going and have a big slicing day," he said.
"Some weeks we process up to three quarters of a tonne of bacon." (ABC: Sophie Kesteven)

Do you have a recipe that highlights local produce and shows everyone what your area is all about? Whether it is local meats, vegetables or fruits you can enter your favourite recipe at Australia Cooks. The best entries will win a place in a new cookbook from ABC Books.